Dune

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A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Year:	1984
Country of origin:	USA
Director:	David Lynch
Genre:	Space epic
Starring:	Kyle MacLachlan, Virginia Madsen, Brad Dourif
Rating:	4/5
IMDB link:	http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087182/
Tagline:	A spectacular journey through the wonders of space and the mysteries of time, from the boundaries of the incredible to the borders of the impossible.
Favourite line:	"I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer."

Barely comprehensible interpretation of the Frank Herbert novel, this is David Lynch at his most pompous.

The planet Arakas, also known as Dune for it never rains, is the only known source of that most valuable of commodities, Spice. People wil pay handsomely for Spice, even kill for it, and he who controls Spice, controls the galaxy.
The Emperor of the Galaxy sends a Duke and his family to the sand planet on a mission that he believes will kill the Duke, but the Duke survives, and sets out for revenge, calling on the planets native inhabitants, The Fremen and their secret powers.
Throw into the mix two mighty warring families, The Atreides (of which the Duke is a member) and The Harkonnen, some giant sandworms of monstrous proportons (and well realised, it has to be said), a maniacal Baron hell bent on controlling the supply of Spice, and you have all the ingredients in place for an epic space opera, with political intrigue, battles and psychadelic special effects. Indeed, at times the effects are sumptuous and awe-inspiring, at others, they look like classic Doctor Who, but they are never less than ambitious.

A curious film, with as many flaws as triumphs (Sting's inclusion being one dubious note of caution), this is a film every sci-fi fan should check out at some point.
NOTE - Set for a remake 2014, apparently.

Drive Angry

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A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Year:	2011
Country of origin:	USA
Director:	Patrick Lussier
Genre:	Cartoon fantasy violence
Starring:	Nicolas Cage, Amber Heard, William Fichtner
Rating:	3/5
IMDB link:	http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1502404/
Tagline:	No tagline
Favourite line:	"Wouldn't wanna be you when Satan finds out!"

Old Horse face is back, this time sporting a spectacular mullet and an even more impressive 'Hellgun."

The plot:
Nic Cage is a haunted man. Having lost his wife and daughter to a cult led my an olive skinned Lothario by the name of Jonah King, he is a man on a mission: to wreak bloody and violent revenge on those that took all that was important to him.

Coming across as part Machete, part Ghost Rider, this is cartoonesque to the point of the redundant.
Smacking as 'based on a graphic novel' even though it ain't no suj fang, this is wantonly over the top and ridiculous, each scene delivered with a knowing wink to the audience: Yeah, this is daft, but it's one heck of a lot of fun, isn't it?
Morally reprehensible - not one character portrayed has any kind of ethical standard or worth - this is excess in the name of entertainment, pure and simple and, for the most part, it works. Hands are lopped off, human femurs are jutted at the 3D screen, blood squirts hither and thither and tither and, the whole time, a vaguely doom metal guitar chugs along in the background, part Sabbath, part Danzig, all red meat.
And by all the Christ's it is violent.
Supremely so.
Utterly preposterous, utterly offensive on so many levels, this is nevertheless entertaining fare, elevated mightily by the august presence known simply as William Fichtner, a man so beautiful to look at and with such on screen charisma he would surely turn even the most homophobic of heads.
Far from perfect, far even from any good, I nevertheless enjoyed this for the duration. Set brain cells to dormant, and enjoy.